Two donkeys, Napoleon, left, and Antosia, stand near each others at a zoo in Poznan, Poland. The two were separated recently because of an outcry over their lovemaking, but have been reunited. (Joanna Piechorowska)

(Newser)
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Napoleon is now back with his Antosia. The two amorous donkeys who were separated because of an outcry over their lovemaking have been reunited at a zoo in Poland. The couple, together for 10 years, got into trouble when mothers expressed outrage that children had to witness their mating. Local conservative official Lydia Dudziak took up their cause and persuaded the director of the zoo in Poznan to have the animals put in separate pens. But today the zoo acknowledged making a mistake. "It was never our intention for any animals to feel uncomfortable because of their natural behaviors," it says in a statement. The interruption of the long-standing romance turned into a national news item in Poland, and nearly 7,000 people signed a petition to have them reunited.

Experts weighed in, saying that forcing the donkeys to live alone could hurt their psychological well-being. Politicians were asked about it on the country's leading news programs. "Animals separated by sex into different cages? It's complete idiocy," says Stefan Niesiolowski, a lawmaker with the governing party, Civic Platform. Even the spokesman for Law and Justice, the conservative party that Dudziak belongs to, would not come to her defense. "It's a level of absurdity ... that has been crossed to such an extent that I don't even want to read or know about this," Adam Hofman said yesterday. In their decade together, Napoleon and Antosia have produced six offspring.